Overpaid by about £4000 (not as bad as some, I know), but 'cos we couldn't pay we now have a CCJ which effectively prevents us from getting mortgage, credit etc. Tried to get MP (Paul Flynn) involved, but this led nowhere. I'm assuming there's nothing we can do?

The only thing would be to satisfy the CCJ, which means paying the debt. The CCJ will remain on your credit file for 6 years (maybe more) but any future creditors will be able to see that it is satisfied. Have you been in contact with your local CAB? They maybe able to advise you further what options are available to you.Can I ask if you went down the dispute route with your overpayment? What was the reason TCO give for the overpayment occurring?

We weren't aware of any dispute mechanism at the time - this was about 3 or 4 years ago now - certainly not one set out as clearly as on this website. The overpayment was because I was only in work for 3 months of the year before I claimed (on the dole for the rest of it) so this 3 months' wages was taken as my annual salary, but there was no facility on the applicaiton to explain this.